Subject: Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-02-01 From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" CONTENTS [01] Unemployment in Greece at 23 pct in October 2016, Eurostat reports [02] Digital policy minister asks NCRTV to 'speed up' TV station licencing process [03] NGO Hamogelo: Requests to find missing children refugees should be reported immediately --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [01] Unemployment in Greece at 23 pct in October 2016, Eurostat reports The unemployment rate in Greece stood at 23 pct in October 2016, down from 23.1 pct in September, according to figures released by the European statistical agency Eurostat on Tuesday. Greece's unemployment rate was the highest in the European Union, with Spain following at 18.4 pct, while the lowest rates were in the Czech Republic (3.5 pct) and Germany (3.9 pct). Joblessness was significantly higher in Greece among women (27.7 pct) compared to men (19.2 pct), while the jobless rate among under-25s eased slightly to 44.2 pct in October, from 44.4 pct in September. [02] Digital policy minister asks NCRTV to 'speed up' TV station licencing process Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Media Minister Nikos Pappas on Tuesday sent a letter to the National Council for Radio and Television (NCRTV), asking it to draw up a "final timetable" and deadlines for issuing national television content licences. According to Pappas, it was vital that action be taken to "speed up" the tender. "It is judged imperative in order to, on the one hand, immediately end the quasi-legal operation of television content providers and, on the other hand, secure revenue for the public sector in the currently difficult economic time for the country." Among others, the minister asked for a specific date by which a tender for the licences will be announced, the dates by which candidates must submit their bids and indicative dates for when the tender will take place and licences issued. In his letter, Pappas cited a Council of State ruling finding that it was unconstitutional to indefinitely prolong the currently illegal regime for founding and operating television licences. Pointing out that the NCRTV's approval was required in order to decide both the number of licences that will be issued and their starting price, he urged the authority to immediately begin deliberating on these two issues so that the tender process might begin. [03] NGO Hamogelo: Requests to find missing children refugees should be reported immediately Parents refugees should file a missing persons report as soon as they realize their child is missing, because this could save its life, the president of Greek NGO Hamogelo tou Paidiou, Kostas Gianopoulos said on Tuesday, speaking at an event on the sidelines of the Informal Meeting of Interior and Justice Ministers for Migration and Asylum issues, in Malta. Hamogelo organized one of the workshops of the conference, with the participation of the organizations «Child Focus» and «Telefono Azzurro», who operate the European Hotline 116000 in Belgium and Italy, respectively. According to available data, only 33 incidents of child disappearances out of a total of 170 requests for assistance were reported to "Hamogelo" in 2016, which is indicative of the low number of reports passed on to the NGO.